I continued trail running in January and February. I fought off a few illnesses, and by late February I really noticed my knee aching. I didn't give it any serious attention, thinking it would just fade away like it usually does. Here are several pictures of training runs and memories from those days. Yes, I know, my life is GOOD!
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And all of this leads up to the big day--The Hillbilly Half Marathon. The race I was afraid of, and rightly so. The good news was that I joined a trail running group and we did train out there before the race, and I trained with some friends as well. My friends and I had a great time dressing up for the occasion, complete with trucker hats. I noticed my knee bothering me throughout the race...what I didn't realize is that I was doing damage. But I finished it! My first trail race was on of the hardest in the western side of my state. I did it!
But then my knee hurt...bad. I finally went to the doctor the following week to learn it was IT Band Syndrome and Tendinitis. I was never so happy to hear those wonderful words. So I turned down the miles, did some light cross training, and mostly took it easy.
Then the local St. Patrick's Day race came around. I knew I could run the 5K, but I didn't think I was ready for the 10K. And I wasn't. So I did the 5K, and just before the race, my daughter's fastpitch game was canceled, so she came with me! She took first in her age group.
Which brings me to today. I had signed up for a half marathon trail run, but two weeks ago, I realized that even if I got my miles up to 8 miles, my kneed could not handle the inclines on a half marathon trail run. So, I switched to the 10K option, and I'm glad I did. I finished in 1:23, and it was a beautiful day. I am not worried about the time (I lost a few min due to missing a turn LOL), I'm just sooooo glad I was able to do it!
So yes, I've had three races this month, but only ran a total of 63.2 miles. I still feel good, and in the last week I've had some good pavement runs of 4 and 5 miles with an average pace of about 9.55. I've been keeping it flat, so today was the first day I walked/jogged inclines. I'm not going to lie, my knee is a little sore, but my foot is more sore. But I think the foot has more to do with wearing Toms than running. Why do cute shoes have to be so bad for your feet?
Anyway, I will be posting soon about what's next! Thanks for following along!
Running With Love :)
